A Cherry Blossom in the Desert
by animefreak1023
Summary: A new threat is after our favorite Kazekage. Who's better to protect him then Naruto and Sakura? After an intense fight, Sakura must decide between love and life. Which will she choose.? My first fanfic. Be nice. GaaSaku. Slight NaruHina and ShikaTema. Enjoy.


**Hey, so…this is my first fanfic…sort of. I started one *years* ago, but I didn't have any motivation to finish it. ;n;**

**I absolutely *adore* this couple, I can't even tell you how many fanfics I've read about them! x3 As a result of that, though, some of the ideas in my story may seem kinda like the other stories. I'm going to try as hard as I can to make this original.! And I apologize ahead of time for any spelling/grammatical mistakes. Also, sorry if the characters are OOC (out of character), I haven't seen Naruto for a week or so –well, that's a long time for me… XD-. This isn't AU (alternate universe) at all. I really hate stories like that… And you Sasuke-lovers out there don't be expecting to see him in this. I don't hate him, I just don't know how well he would work in this story. I don't know how often I'll be updating, if at all. I guess that depends on time and your reviews. I won't continue without at least two reviews.. Read and review please! Rated T for swearing and suggestive themes later on… :o**

**Disclaimer: We all hate 'em, but we all need 'em. I do not own **_**Naruto **_**or any of the characters in it. If I did, all of my favorite couples would be together… -**

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

**A Cherry Blossom in the Desert-Chapter One**

'_Finally, a day to myself…' _Sakura thought as she headed towards her apartment. She had been working almost nonstop for the past week or so. There have been many missions for Konoha, keeping the medic nin running around helping those who got injured. Once home, she plopped down on her couch to finally rest. As she was close to the bliss of sleep, she was interrupted by three loud knocks on her front door. Sighing, she got up and trudged to the door. _'Unless it's someone important, I'm going to pound their head in…' _she thought angrily. She opened it revealing an excited Naruto, smiling brightly at her.

"Sakura, I'm glad you're-!" _Thud. _Naruto groggily sat up and examined the dent in the apartment building's hallway. "What the hell was that for!" he said with annoyance.

"Oh, please, you deserved that," she said. "Do you even know how tired I am? This better be important, Naruto."

Back to his usual peppy self, he replied, "Oh, yeah, it is! Grandma Tsunade says she has a mission for both of us! Hinata and Shikamaru, too!" He was practically hopping at this point.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, you baka!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the Hokage tower, almost throwing him into his chair next to Hinata. "Gomen, sensei. Naruto failed to tell me of this mission sooner."

"It's fine Sakura, please have a seat." She listened, sitting down in between Shikamaru and Naruto. She looked around seeing Shikamaru's emotionless face and then to Hinata's blushing one. She laughed in her head at Hinata's shyness. _'That baka is lucky to have someone crushing on him like that. I have no one..." _she thought sadly. "Sakura?" Tsunade asked worriedly, pulling Sakura out of her stupor.

"Sorry, sensei, I'm just tired is all." She smiled to her, encouraging Tsunade to continue.

The Hokage began, "I know these missions are in a large quantity these days, but I need you all to go on a very important one for me. The Kazekage is being targeted-"

"WHAT? GAARA'S BEING TARGETED?" Naruto shot up from his seat, yelling loudly. He sat down after a particularly hard hit from Sakura and a glare from Tsunade. "Uh, gomen, guys… please continue…"

"As I was saying," Tsunade continued, "The Kazekage is being targeted. I don't know who's targeting him, or why, but I do know your mission is an important one. Requested by the Kazekage's siblings, you must protect him with everything you got. This is one mission where I will **not** tolerate failure. Do you all understand?"

Yes, Lady Tsunade." They all said at once.

"Oh, and you should pack your bags right away. You leave in 3 hours. You will be staying in Suna until the threat is diminished. " She added as they all walked away, through the doors of her office.

"_What could someone want with the Kazekage?" _She was quite flustered at her mission as she was packing up her bag. She had been thinking about it nonstop since she left the Hokage's presence. Finally packed up and almost late, she left for the village gates, leaping from roof to roof to get there quicker. "Sorry everyone, I'm here. Wait, where's Naruto and Hinata?"

Shikamaru pointed near a cute café that was empty except for a couple, the two shinobi Sakura was looking for. Sighing she smiled dreamily, wishing she had a luxury like that. "Hey guys, come here. We're ready to go now. So troublesome…" The two walked over hand in hand, Hinata blushing furiously.

"Guess what, Sakura! I asked Hinata to go out with me and she said yes! Oh, isn't she adorable when she blushes like this?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm very happy for you two!" she replied, a fake smile adorning her face. "I can't believe that baka Naruto finally realized his feelings for Hinata!" she continued, a real smile forming on her face at her insult to the flamboyant ninja. "I think it's time to go. Are you all ready?" She watches as everyone nods towards her. "Then let's be on our way." She couldn't help but to think to herself during the quiet trip to Suna. _'Is Kazekage-sama really in such danger? The last I saw of him was at Lady Chiyo's funeral. That was after the Akatsuki took Shukaku, though. What could anyone want with him now?' _Before she knew it, they had arrived at the desert village. She looked up towards the grand walls around the village, wondering how well they would protect the young crimson haired leader.

"Gaara."

"What is it Temari?" the young Kazekage replied, slight annoyance shown on his usually stoic face. _'What an obnoxious woman. She should know I am busy.' _He notices that Temari has been staring at him; most likely waiting for a response to the statement he missed her saying. "What was that?"

"I said that due to recent discoveries, we found that you are no longer safe without personal escorts and bodyguards. So Kankuro and I asked Konoha for a few of their best shinobi. Do you wish to know who the Hokage is sending for you?" She flinched, expecting her younger brother to glare at her.

Keeping to his usual self, Gaara glared at the blonde, sending her a silent 'Get out.' He watched as his sister rushed out of the room. He sighed, looking out of his office window. He thought to himself, _'I cannot stand those horrid siblings of mine. Do they think of me as weak?' _He stood up after filing his paperwork from that day. Expecting the Leaf shinobi to show up soon, he vanished into his sand to greet them at the gates.

**Total Word Count: 1234**

**So what did you think? Did you hate it, love it, was it okay? Review with what you think, and tips maybe.? c: Also, with any questions or concerns. **

**Until my next update, bye! x)**

**-Megaboo**


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